Succession planting is a fantastic way to maximize the production of your vegetable garden. This method can double, or even triple the amount of vegetables you grow and harvest each season.
Spring is generally considered the planting time of year, but you can really break planting into three seasons (four seasons if you live in a wam climate).
By continually planting, and harvesting each season, the vegetable garden now becomes an efficient produce-growing machine.
What Is Succession Planting?
There are many ways to use succession planting in your vegetable garden, but there are generally two main schools of thought on it.
Each method works well for increasing the amount of vegetables you can grow in a year, and maximizing the space you have available for growing vegetables.
Succession Planting in Intervals
One method of succession planting is planting some vegetables at different intervals at a time.
This works well for most cool-weather crops, or crops that are ready to harvest in a short period of time, such as:
![Sow Seeds at Intervals to Maximize the Harvest]()
Let's say you are planting Buttercrunch lettuce in your vegetable garden and you want to plant them in intervals.
You sow a few of your lettuce seeds in the vegetable garden as soon as it's time to plant them in your area.
You then wait two weeks and sow a few more of the lettuce seeds. Wait another two weeks and sow a few more of the lettuce seeds.
Continue this until you have all your lettuce sowed that you planned on growing.
By planting at two week intervals you will have a steady harvest of the Buttercrunch lettuce every two weeks. If you planted all the lettuce seeds at once they would mature and be ready to harvest all at once.
Planting at intervals spreads the harvest out much longer, keeping something growing in your garden at all times. It also spreads out the harvest so you don't have too many harvested vegetables at one time.
Ever had so many vegetables at once you didn't know what to do with them all?
Interval planting will help alleviate that problem!
Of course, this method works well for just about every vegetable, and can be used for vegetables that take longer to grow, like squash, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, if you have a long growing season.
Fill a Gap Succession Planting
Another method of succession planting is what I like to call "Fill a Gap" Planting. This planting method works really well for keeping your vegetable garden growing all the time.
You can easily keep planting, growing, and harvesting throughout the growing season in your area.
![Replace Harvested Crops with Another Crop for Continual Growing]()
Let's go back to the example of growing lettuce.
In the interval planting method you sowed seeds and harvested the lettuce at different intervals.
With the Fill a Gap method you plant all the lettuces in the garden bed at once, like most of us do normally. If you have room for sixteen lettuce plants, you plant all sixteen at the same time.
You check the seed packet for your particular lettuce and it says the lettuce should be ready to harvest 45 - 55 days after the seeds germinate.
Now you know the lettuce should be ready to harvest in around a month and a half to two months after the seeds germinate.
After the 45 - 55 days, your lettuce is ready to harvest. You now have an empty space for planting another vegetable.
Now that the lettuces are harvested plant spinach, radishes, bok choi, or arugula in that space left.
In other words, if you planted the lettuces in the middle of March they will be ready to harvest around the first week of May.
Once the lettuce is harvested in the first week of May, plant your summer squash, bush beans, or tomatoes in that location vacated by the harvested lettuce.
![Have the New Batch of Seedlings Ready for Succession Planting]()
Helpful Resources for Succession Planting
There are some great websites that give awesome information and ideas on succession planting, here are a few:
Johnny's Selected Seeds - Johnny's Selected Seeds has a great schedule for succession planting if you live in the north. Some of the ideas can be implemented for gardeners in any region of the country. Check out the Succession Planting Guide from Johnny's.
Virginia Cooperative Extension - The Virginia Cooperative Extension gives a great article on intensive growing methods, including succession planting. You can read the article here.
Planning is critical for getting your succession planting figured out just right. The GrowVeg Garden Planner has built-in features for succession planting that make organizing it all a breeze.
You can see how easy and efficient it is by watching the video on the succession planting features below.
You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of GrowVeg and see how easy and fun it is to plan your succession planting.
Maximize Your Vegetable Garden with Succession Planting
There are many, many different ways you can use succession planting in your vegetable garden to get more fresh produce in less space.
I hope these ideas will help spur your creativity and cause you to use more succession planting in your garden. It's a great way to extend your season and get the most out of your garden space!
Spring is generally considered the planting time of year, but you can really break planting into three seasons (four seasons if you live in a wam climate).
By continually planting, and harvesting each season, the vegetable garden now becomes an efficient produce-growing machine.
What Is Succession Planting?
There are many ways to use succession planting in your vegetable garden, but there are generally two main schools of thought on it.
Each method works well for increasing the amount of vegetables you can grow in a year, and maximizing the space you have available for growing vegetables.
Succession Planting in Intervals
One method of succession planting is planting some vegetables at different intervals at a time.
This works well for most cool-weather crops, or crops that are ready to harvest in a short period of time, such as:
- Lettuces
- Spinach
- Radishes
- Carrots
- Peas
- Bok Choi
- Radicchio
- Arugula
- Swiss Chard
You sow a few of your lettuce seeds in the vegetable garden as soon as it's time to plant them in your area.
You then wait two weeks and sow a few more of the lettuce seeds. Wait another two weeks and sow a few more of the lettuce seeds.
Continue this until you have all your lettuce sowed that you planned on growing.
By planting at two week intervals you will have a steady harvest of the Buttercrunch lettuce every two weeks. If you planted all the lettuce seeds at once they would mature and be ready to harvest all at once.
Planting at intervals spreads the harvest out much longer, keeping something growing in your garden at all times. It also spreads out the harvest so you don't have too many harvested vegetables at one time.
Ever had so many vegetables at once you didn't know what to do with them all?
Interval planting will help alleviate that problem!
Of course, this method works well for just about every vegetable, and can be used for vegetables that take longer to grow, like squash, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, if you have a long growing season.
Fill a Gap Succession Planting
Another method of succession planting is what I like to call "Fill a Gap" Planting. This planting method works really well for keeping your vegetable garden growing all the time.
You can easily keep planting, growing, and harvesting throughout the growing season in your area.
In the interval planting method you sowed seeds and harvested the lettuce at different intervals.
With the Fill a Gap method you plant all the lettuces in the garden bed at once, like most of us do normally. If you have room for sixteen lettuce plants, you plant all sixteen at the same time.
You check the seed packet for your particular lettuce and it says the lettuce should be ready to harvest 45 - 55 days after the seeds germinate.
Now you know the lettuce should be ready to harvest in around a month and a half to two months after the seeds germinate.
After the 45 - 55 days, your lettuce is ready to harvest. You now have an empty space for planting another vegetable.
Now that the lettuces are harvested plant spinach, radishes, bok choi, or arugula in that space left.
In other words, if you planted the lettuces in the middle of March they will be ready to harvest around the first week of May.
Once the lettuce is harvested in the first week of May, plant your summer squash, bush beans, or tomatoes in that location vacated by the harvested lettuce.
Helpful Resources for Succession Planting
There are some great websites that give awesome information and ideas on succession planting, here are a few:
Johnny's Selected Seeds - Johnny's Selected Seeds has a great schedule for succession planting if you live in the north. Some of the ideas can be implemented for gardeners in any region of the country. Check out the Succession Planting Guide from Johnny's.
Virginia Cooperative Extension - The Virginia Cooperative Extension gives a great article on intensive growing methods, including succession planting. You can read the article here.
Planning is critical for getting your succession planting figured out just right. The GrowVeg Garden Planner has built-in features for succession planting that make organizing it all a breeze.
You can see how easy and efficient it is by watching the video on the succession planting features below.
You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of GrowVeg and see how easy and fun it is to plan your succession planting.
Maximize Your Vegetable Garden with Succession Planting
There are many, many different ways you can use succession planting in your vegetable garden to get more fresh produce in less space.
I hope these ideas will help spur your creativity and cause you to use more succession planting in your garden. It's a great way to extend your season and get the most out of your garden space!
